New to Air Rifles

[HK Dave]

Hey guys, looking for a simple air rifle to shoot gophers and squirrels. I like in the city so can’t use a rifle since my neighbors would probably get me arrested.

Can someone point me in the right direction?

Iron sights preferred.

[ejhc11]

Sounds like a pistol, these are US made and pack a punch. Might need the 22 cal.

They're pneumatic multi pump, start at three pumps for targets all the way out to 10 pumps for hunting.

Hundreds of mods and accessories, even has a shoulder stock option to make it a carbine.

Cheap and accurate, very reliable, keep the seals lubed and when storing remember to pump it once.

[McNally M.]

Originally Posted by ejhc11

Sounds like a pistol, these are US made and pack a punch. Might need the 22 cal.

They're pneumatic multi pump, start at three pumps for targets all the way out to 10 pumps for hunting.

Hundreds of mods and accessories, even has a shoulder stock option to make it a carbine.

Cheap and accurate, very reliable, keep the seals lubed and when storing remember to pump it once.

^ This. The Crosman 1377 and 1322 American Classics are fantastic pistols, and built extraordinarily well. $60 new on Ebay, can't go wrong.

My dad bought a 1377 in the late 80's that remains a tackdriver to this day.

[Rivers]

The most important things to consider are going to be power, accuracy and noise. A .22 caliber pellet will dispatch up to and including a rabbit. It's a large enough caliber to have some decent energy yet right on the threshold of silence. Your neighbors aren't likely to hear the below rifles. A PCP air rifle uses a charged air tank that's built into the rifle. These can use any powder-burner rifle scope without damaging the scope. (A springer will turn that same scope into a collection of parts.) There are tuning tricks that can enhance the Marauder, as shown in the second offering below. Yes, they do make a difference.

Last point is that you CAN use a pump to recharge the air on the rifle. Or you can get a larger bottle, recharge the rifle from that and every couple of months, get that larger bottle refilled. Your common air compressor is not adequate for this. Refilling a larger bottle can be done at airsoft stores, even by a good buddy fireman at the station... Or you can get your own compressor but that's more than the cost of the rifle. Depends on how deeply into air rifles you're going to get.

Note that Benjamin is a sub-brand of Crosman, a longtime manufacturer of BB and pellet guns.

Read the reviews:

Benjamin Marauder .22

Benjamin Marauder Synrod Combo

Benjamin Marauder with wood stock

[McNally M.]

Originally Posted by ejhc11

Sounds like a pistol, these are US made and pack a punch. Might need the 22 cal.

They're pneumatic multi pump, start at three pumps for targets all the way out to 10 pumps for hunting.

Hundreds of mods and accessories, even has a shoulder stock option to make it a carbine.

Cheap and accurate, very reliable, keep the seals lubed and when storing remember to pump it once.

Another reason to consider the Crosman pistols is that a should stock is available, allowing to use it as a carbine.

https://www.crosman.com/product/crosman-shoulder-stock/

[hermosabeach]

Some of the new airguns have mufflers/ suppressors/ silencers and are really quiet.


The big question is budget????

After budget becomes distance.... Squirrels will run off when shot through the body with a .5mm or 22 cal pellet... the head shot is the only clean kill.


Springers will take a set after 100-200 rounds and should stay somewhere around 80% of advertised velocity. They are the cheapest for of power for a quieter shot... Don't be surprised if the point of impact shifts as velocity decreases... this is normal and will settle down with use.


There are some new PCP air rifles that are really nice and some are quiet.

jump to 15:21 - types of guns
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oljUTVxUZ3Q


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gvQnmd2OmrE